Writing- The Gorm
To help us get ready for our independent character description, we took part in a paired write. Working with a partner gave us the chance to share ideas, improve our sentences, and challenge each other’s thinking.
Our focus was on using expanded noun phrases to add detail and bring our writing to life. Together we looked closely at ‘The Gorm’, a character from Podium: One Ear. We practised choosing precise adjectives and descriptive details to create clear pictures in the reader’s mind.
The children really enjoyed working collaboratively and are now feeling confident and excited to apply these skills in their own independent writing. We can’t wait to see the amazing character descriptions they create!
Performance Poetry!
As part of National Poetry Week, Year 3 have been exploring the power of performance poetry. Our chosen poem was ‘Let No One Steal Your Dreams’ by Paul Cookson , an inspiring piece all about following your ambitions and believing in yourself.
We focused on bringing the words to life by:
- Projecting our voices so that every line could be heard clearly.
- Using prosody, changing the tone, pace and volume of our voices to show meaning and emotion.
- Adding actions to emphasise key lines and help the audience connect with the message of the poem.
The children worked brilliantly together, building confidence and performing with energy and expression. It was a fantastic way to celebrate poetry and to show how spoken word can inspire and encourage others.
Help at home: Practise using voice projection duing home reading
Living and Learning: I know that rights come with responsibilities
This week, our Living and Learning statement is I know that rights come with responsibilities.
In Year 3, we have been learning that rights are the things that everyone deserves (like being safe, cared for and listened to) and responsibilities are the things we should do to make sure we and others can enjoy those rights (like following rules, showing respect and helping others).
The children discussed examples of rights they have at school, such as the right to learn, play and feel safe. The responsibilities that go with them, such as listening carefully, taking care of equipment and being kind.
Help at Home: Talk to your child about their rights and responsibilities at home. For example, they might have the right to play with toys but the responsibility to tidy them away afterwards. Sharing examples together will help to strengthen their understanding.
Wake Up Shake Up
This week we’ve been getting active with our brand new Wake Up Shake Up dance. Every morning, Year 3 have been joining in with big smiles, great moves and lots of energy.
It’s a brilliant way to start the day and it wakes up our bodies and our brains, ready for learning. We’re already getting really good at the moves, and some of us are even adding our own style!.
Next week, we’re excited to be teaching the rest of the school our new dance. The song is all about having a bad hair day so, no excuses if your hair’s a little wild, it just means you’re performance ready!
Help at home: Practise the dance at home
Ground Control to Major Tom!
This week in Music, Year 3 have been learning all about ballads. A ballad is a song that tells a story.
We listened to Space Oddity by David Bowie and thought about the story it was telling. Then, we created our own storyboards to show what we imagined was happening in the song. Our storyboards were amazing, full of creativity and brilliant ideas!
We also loved watching our very own ‘Major Tom’ in space, astronaut Chris Hadfield, as he sang Space Oddity on the International Space Station. (Apologies in advance if you don’t hear the end of it at home, we were very impressed!)
Help at home: Watch the video and discuss the story of Major Tom.
Writing: What is a squashed sentence?
We have noticed that many of us sometimes write ‘squashed sentences’. This is very common! A squashed sentence happens when two sentences are joined together without a full stop or a joining word.
Here’s how we fix them:
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Use a full stop and start a new sentence with a capital letter.
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Add a conjunction like and, or, so, but, because to join the sentence properly.
For example:
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Squashed sentence: I went to the park I saw my friend.
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Fixed with a full stop: I went to the park. I saw my friend.
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Fixed with a conjunction: I went to the park and I saw my friend.
Remember, fixing squashed sentences makes your writing clearer and easier to read! Keep practising, Year 3!
Help at home: Come up with your own squashed sentence and fix it with a full stop or conjunction.
Our class novel
This term, our class novel is Podkin One-Ear by Kieran Larwood, and we have loved diving into the magical world of rabbits, warrens, and adventures! The story has already captured our imaginations, and we can’t wait to see what happens next.
We have also been practising one of our key reading skills: retrieval. This means finding information directly from the text to help us answer questions. As part of this, we looked carefully at the description of the Bard and used words from the story to describe him. Afterwards, we drew our own versions of the Bard, bringing the character to life with the details we found.
Help at home: Choose a character from a book, find words from the text to describe them, and use these words to help you draw the character.
Reading Records
This week in Year 3, we have been talking about the importance of regular reading and keeping our reading records up to date. Reading records must be signed by an adult each week, and they help us to celebrate the children’s progress in Book Club every Friday.
Homework can be based on your child’s eCollins book, as this is the same text they are reading and practising fluency with in class.
This week’s task (15/09/25) is called ‘Step into their Shoes’. The children should imagine themselves as one of the characters in their book and think carefully about what that character might be feeling or thinking. This helps us to practise inference skills and deepen our understanding of the story.
Please use the template provided below to support your child with their homework. We are looking forward to seeing the children’s brilliant ideas and sharing them in Book Club on Friday!
Year 3 Science
This week in Science, Year 3 began their new topic: Skeletons. We learned that our skeleton gives us shape, helps us move, and protects our organs. The children enjoyed naming key bones: the skull, pelvis, femur, ribcage, and spine.
Help at home: help your child practise naming and identifying some of the key bones we have learned in class.
The five bones we are focusing on are:
- Skull – protects the brain.
- Spine – supports the body and protects the spinal cord.
- Ribcage – protects the heart and lungs.
- Pelvis – supports the body’s weight and protects organs.
- Femur – the thigh bone, longest and strongest in the body. It helps us to stand.
You could even make it fun by playing “Simon Says” and pointing to the correct bone on yourself!
Living and Learning: I follow the school rules
Hello everyone!
It has been such a pleasure welcoming back our wonderful Year 3 class this week. I’m Miss Gilliland and I’m absolutely delighted to be your new teacher this year! We’ve had a busy and exciting couple of days settling back into school life, getting to know each other and starting to make our classroom feel like a happy, safe space for learning.
This week, our Living and Learning statement is “I follow the school rules.” We have spent time exploring our three school rules:
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We’re ready
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We’re respectful
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We’re safe
Together, we talked about what each of these rules looks like, sounds like, and feels like in different parts of the school day; from lining up in the playground to working hard in lessons. The children shared thoughtful ideas and showed a great understanding of how these rules help keep our school a happy and healthy place to believe and achieve.
I’m already so proud of how the children have started the year. They’ve come back full of energy, enthusiasm and curiosity. I’m looking forward to an exciting term ahead full of learning, laughter and new adventures!
Well done, Year 3. What a brilliant beginning!
Help at home: talk about our three school rules and why they’re important